Week 2 AP Poll: Ducks Hunted

The marathon through Week 0 & Week 1 has completed and AP voters have submitted ballots. Ohio State dropped despite beating Top-5 Notre Dame; Oregon and Cinci drop out of the rankings with losses on the road to SEC teams, replaced by Florida and Tennessee.

Most Overrated

#11 Oklahoma State – The Cowboys are undoubtedly a good team, primed for another good season competing for the Big 12 Championship. However, did they play like a fringe Top-10 team in a home 14-point win over Central Michigan? Surely much of the pre-season buzz was due to the expected return of an elite defense; giving up 44 points to CMU does not scream elite. 19 voters put the Cowboys in their top 10, including a high rank of #7. This could be a case where voters placed them in a spot preseason, they won, so they can’t move down. OK State did score a lot of points and Spencer Sanders did amass many yards, but it’ hard to believe OSU is deserving to be ranked ahead of a Florida team that knocked off previously #7 Utah.

Most Underrated

#38 Oregon State – While their in-state brethren were getting slaughtered in Atlanta, the Beavers were putting up a very impressive home win against traditional G5 power Boise State. The Broncos had some preseason buzz as a potential NY6 team, with a lot of returning experience and blue-chip freshman talent. But those Broncos went into Corvallis and got smacked. The Beavers may not ultimately compete for the Pac 12 title, but they did show one of the best performances of Week 1 and deserved far more love from voters than the paltry 5 points given this week.

Spotlight Voter

John Pierson (@JPPierson), WTNH-TV – The local sports anchor of New Haven, CT was the only voter who did not see enough from Florida to include the Gators on his ballot. Whether you think they should’ve lost, or you weren’t entirely impressed with Anthony Richardson’s 274 total yards, 3 TDs, and 70% completion percentage, Florida still won the game over Utah. Pierson has the 0-1 Utes ranked 15^th. Florida very well may lose this week vs. Kentucky, but for now they own a signature win and it’s hard to imagine not having the Gators anywhere in the Top 25.

TCU Status

What percentage of AP voters stayed up into the weary hours of Saturday morning to watch the 2^nd half of TCU’s win in Boulder? Likely not many. In any case, the Frogs are still weeks away from any real consideration for votes, with an FCS game and Bye week before the Iron Skillet matchup and Big 12 schedule. However, Purdue (home loss to Penn State) and Arizona (bad team with a win over San Diego St.) both received votes, so anything is possible.

Big 12 (+4) Votes

• #7 Oklahoma – Large win over UTEP and gets what should be another tune up game vs. Kent State. Expect the Sooners to be in the Top 5 at some point this season
• #9 Baylor – Won its FCS game, great. Huge game in Provo this week
• #11 OK State – Discussed above. They’ll lose a weird one eventually (hopefully October 15…)
• #21 BYU – Demolished Gerry Bohannon & USF, can they do the same to Bohannon’s former squad? Injuries to star WRs Puka Nacua & Gunner Romney could be an issue
• #25 Houston – A thrilling win in a rocking Alamodome over UTSA had voters drop the Cougars a spot. UH now must travel to Lubbock and take on Texas Tech who will be without starting QB Tyler Shough.
• #28 Texas – Longhorns stomped a terrible UL-Monroe team and voters weren’t impressed. UT now wants Bama as three-TD underdog…Texas will either be back or back out of the rankings.
• #29 Cincinnati – The Bearcats fought hard against Arkansas, but still suffered their first regular season in over two full seasons.
• #31 UCF - Won its FCS game, great. A win over Louisville on Friday night should bump them very near the Top 25.